The Two Js: The Final Chapter?
by IBN96
Summary: A continuation of the adventures faced by the two Js, Joe and Jamal, along with their friends, but this time, they have big obstacles in their way, which they need to work hard to overcome. However it is, they all have to save Creamland. In between, other events would take place, and interventions of other people, either known or unkown, is inevitable.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Pant…" a running Jamal sighed, struggling for breath as he sprinted along a slightly bizarre pathway. In the background, there seemed to be bright lights, and colours of bright pink with a combination of other rainbow colours, but in increased brightness. The young Jamal looked uneasy with the conditions, and he slightly fell to the ground, on his knees.

"Oh my God!" he said as he fell. "What is happening?"

Suddenly, an unknown figure, dressed in a big cloak, and holding a scythe, appeared. The figure's face was hidden by the cloak's hood. Either way, big cloak or not, he appeared closer to a weakening Jamal. Jamal stared in confusion. He did not know who that man was, or his purpose of appearing. Nor did he know of all the things that appear around him.

The figure walked towards Jamal and then stopped. For a moment, he did almost nothing. Jamal was really confused and he felt as if he was sinking, almost out of breath in an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Before he tried to even recover from his predicament, the figure held his scythe up high, with the sharp end pointed towards him. To his surprise, the scythe released some sort of beam, which hit Jamal and caused the young man's skin to melt, literally. Jamal felt as if he was in a room with no air at all, not to mention air conditioner. Slowly, his skin disintegrated into a semi-liquid form.

Jamal was as good as finished when the figure attempted to hit him with the scythe, his body already turned into liquid. But Jamal was screaming in pain as the beam hit him. He really could not bear the heat.

However, moments later, Jamal screamed in fear, when he was in his own room.

"Yaarrghh!" he screamed. But he was surprised when he looked around. He recalled his weird dream, where he was transported to a strange place and left to melt, but it seemed he was only dreaming. He was on his bed, and to prove that, his walls are solid. No bright rainbow colours that caused him to feel dizzy and fall like in the dream.

"Oh my God," Jamal said, "I just had a bad dream. Forgive me for my sins."

His scream was realised by his father, who came in to the room to comfort him.

"Jamal, my child," his father said, "you must have had a bad dream."

"I guess I just did," Jamal said, removing his warm blanket towards the corner.

"Son," the generous father said to his son, "dreams are something normal. All you have to do is move on in life. Go the righteous way and, God willing, you will achieve success not only in this life, but the hereafter."

"Father," Jamal said, "have you encountered terrible dreams in your life?"

"To say that I have not," Jamal's father replied, "is a lie. Of course I did. But I did what I told you just now."

"What did you say just now?" asked a curious Jamal. His mind was a little occupied and he forgot his father's words that went on less than a minute before.

The breadwinner of the Hashim family, and the father of young Jamal Hashim, did not show any trace of annoyance towards his forgetful son. Instead, he kindly repeated his sentences about forgetting some dreams.

"Son," Mr. Hashim said, "There are good and bad in this world. The same goes for dreams. We are taught continuously to take something good that benefits us in life and leave out the bad things than brings evil. In fact, God teaches us to do good deeds and prevent bad deeds in the Holy Book, the Quran."

"Oh," Jamal said as tried to recall the verses in the Quran. "I remembered some parts of it. Thank you for reminding me, father. God bless you."

"Hmm…," Mr. Hashim put his right hand below his chin, and laughed. "God bless you, too."

Jamal's father also reminded Jamal that it was 6 o'clock in the morning. Usually at 6 o'clock, people of the Islam faith pray their first of five prayers of the day. So, after being reminded, Jamal nodded his head and went to the bathroom to cleanse his body parts before performing the prayers.

The young man prayed for a few minutes. He finished his prayers with some recitals of verses from the Holy Book. Then, he heard a voice from his family members. His parents were talking about something, and he wanted to pay attention to their issues.

Unfortunately, he heard something unpleasant.

"I am sorry," Mr. Hashim said, "but we could not afford a lot of jewellery."

"But we did not buy a lot of jewellery at all," Mrs. Hashim said. "Where did the money go?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Well," Mr. Hashim replied, "they went elsewhere. We may have overspent in some areas. Probably we bought too many things without paying attention to the credit card balance. Our own mistakes."

"What should we do now, knowing that we have little in our pockets?" Mrs. Hashim asked.

"Do not worry, my wife," Mrs. Hashim, "things will turn out well, God willing. He is with us, every second in our life. He does not leave us, and we must not leave Him, regardless of our condition, rich or poor, healthy or not."

Upon hearing the conversation, Jamal's eyes blinked, and he cried. He knew that there was something not right with his family's expenses. That it was not good news for not just his parents, but also himself. He soon wiped his tears away with his shirt's sleeves.

I really hope things get better for all of us one day, he thought.

When the morning came, Jamal did not say anything regarding the issues his parents were facing. Instead, he just pretended like nothing bad happened. His bald hair cleaned and nice t-shirt put on, with old leather pants, he descended down the stairs to take his breakfast.

Mrs. Hashim prepared food, while Mr. Hashim was seen reading the daily newspaper from the Metronomic Newspaper Company. Mrs. Hashim realised his son arriving and kept a brave face, just to cheer his son up and not let him know about the trials they were facing. Mr. Hashim was focused on reading the newspaper. The front page wrote, Flying Humans Arrived. Are They Aliens? , and it looked like a very big topic of interest for many people, including the breadwinner of the family.

"Hmm…" Mr. Hashim shrugged as he went through the pages, "this alien thing…is not really real."

"Why do you say that, father?" Jamal asked.

"To be honest," Mr. Hashim replied, "the media likes to create some stories. Stories like this 'flying humans' nonsense, and its relation to aliens, people seeing aliens…well, I think most of them are nonsense whatsoever!"

"Calm down," Jamal said. "You said some stories? Why?"

"It is understood," Mr. Hashim said, "that we have to believe in the existence of other beings, other than ourselves.

"I know that," Jamal said as he picked up a crispy-looking curry puff to eat for breakfast. He ate quietly and carefully, absorbing the available nutrients that he could get from the curry puff. His mother is very good in cooking lots of food, especially Indian food. The young man then said, "Mmm…delicious!" after he finished eating just one curry puff, and he did not eat the other two on the table. His mother could only smile at his son's remarks.

Mr. Hashim smiled as well, but he was too busy flipping through the pages of his favourite newspaper. He went through the Business section, and then he turned over to the Cartoons section before finally settling in the Sports section, which is his favourite news section among them all. When looking at the Sports section's football news, he looked happy and excited.

"Yes, this is good!" he said. "Our national team made it through the quarter finals!"

"Huh?" Jamal said. "Oh, that is great news! I hope we go on and win."

"Hopefully," his father continued, "but our team still needs some changes, especially in the attacking forward."

It is no secret that Mr. Hashim is an avid sports fan. He watches many kinds of sports, and his most watched sport is football. He usually watches both national and international football. Whether it is a regional competition or a world championship, he will keep in touch. He used to play football for a short time in his younger years, by the way, so he knows his way around the system.

Jamal was interested in listening to his father's commentary on the previous night's football, but he had some work to do. As it turned out, his good friend Joe called just before he was ready to leave home. So, the young Jamal picked up his mobile phone and answered the call.

"Hi, Joe," Jamal said. "What is happening?"

"Jamal," the colourful figure known as Joe said. "I need you to come down here. Important thing we all need to talk about."

"All right," Jamal said. "Where are you now?"

"The police station, of course," Joe replied. "Where else could I be?"

The phone call ended soon, and Jamal said his goodbyes before leaving his house. He would embark on a mission that appeared to be important, judging by his friend's speech, but he still had no clue what was going on in the police station.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jamal and his friend Joe worked as detectives for the Creamland Police Department. They worked for almost a year now. So far, they managed to fight crime alongside the police force, by providing clues and tracking down enemies, among other methods.

For Jamal, it started when Joe invited him to join the force, as means to fight crime, and do something good with his life. It was understood that Joe is an adventurous person. He loved adventure, and so becoming a detective was something he really wanted since he was a little boy. Jamal was skeptical at first, but eventually, he agreed to become a detective as well.

At least he had something to do which benefits other people, and fighting crime proved helpful in many ways. But the two Js, as they came to be known in the department, worked voluntarily, without receiving any payment for their work. That was something Joe was fine with, since he worked night shifts in the supermarket on weekends. But Jamal was unemployed and, although a voluntary detective, started to feel uneasy because of the problem his family was already facing.

Creamland was a peaceful city, but its peace was sometimes disrupted by the emergence of bad people, who are corrupt, greedy and ambitious in some ways. People who are interested in world domination, and proving a point, even to the extent of breaking the rules. The law was breached many times by these number of people, and some continue to do so these days. The police force had their hands full several times, but they did all they could to stop them all. They are continuing to do so to this day.

Names like Dominic and Raul were common in the force's most wanted list. Dominic and Raul were good friends and the pioneers of the Dominic Enterprise Company, where Dominic is the muscle and Raul make up most of the brains. The company was a disguise for Dominic's crime operations, but sooner or later, the police would find out.

However, Dominic was very wealthy and had some sort of immunity that brought him out of jail several times. He had his helpers from other areas in Creamland, and he himself possessed power in terms of wealth. Raul, Dominic's assistant, remained anonymous at times, because he sometimes did not show up in public. Probably because he did not want anything to do with his employer's antics.

However, recent research carried out by the intelligent and productive people at the police department provided more clues to the Raul persona. His background was made visible to the police. Still, there were no details about his past, associates and even origin. More research would be carried out in time.

Besides the two, other bad guys would be handled by the police. Be it some violent rebellion, or any violent and unlawful activities, they would do their best to protect the people and bring justice to the city of Creamland.

The most recent occurrence was the appearance of the Flying Brothers. The newspapers stated about possibilities that these people were aliens, but truthfully, they are not. They are actually human beings dressed in some sort of costume, with a flying harness equipped to the back of their bodies. The harness enabled them to float to great heights, going against the gravitational pull of Earth.

At the same time, the brothers, who were led by a criminal named Flyer, are not real siblings, but they are just friends. They were recruited by Flyer, who later proposed the idea of a flying harness with add-ons that would enable them to wreak havoc in the city, and take the city's belongings to make them theirs.

Over time, Flyer's research and development in his private laboratory enabled him to create three flying harnesses for his three friends. It took some time but, after being released from jail by a certain Dominic, he got to work immediately. The evil Flyer set his sights on terrorising the city and getting the power to eventually become ruler of the city, even the world if he lives long enough.

Dominic insisted on setting him free after learning more about him through his own research. In fact, Flyer was released just a few days after Dominic. They shared the same cell in prison for a few days, that is, before Raul stepped in to save his employer, and 'do what an employee should', as he was reminded constantly by his employer. With the release, a deal was done by Dominic and Flyer. Dominic promised to keep the money rolling in for Flyer to continue his research and development, while terrorising the city.

A few days ago, the Flying Brothers bombed several areas of the city with their hand beams. The beams were actually installed along with the harness, on both hands. Once aimed at something, with a slight press of a button, the beam would direct at the aimed object and significantly destroy it. Flyer realised that his hard work finally paid off, and he got inches closer to his ultimate goal.

After their crime spree was put to a stop, albeit for a short time, the sinister Flying Brothers came to Dominic's building. They stepped in his office and met him. At that time, Dominic was watching his favourite TV show, seated comfortably on his lazy couch, while Raul stood quietly behind him. Without Dominic's knowledge, Raul was not pleased with the flying men who made a deal with him.

"That is a great comedy," Dominic said, and laughed loudly. "Why are you so silent, Raul?"

"Well," Raul said, "I have other things in mind."

"Why not you just sit down, or talk to the Flyers over there?"

"Should I?"

Raul went ahead with his boss's request. He approached Flyer, and looked him in the eye. The look that the incumbent assistant gave to Flyer was that of anger and disappointment. He had second thoughts when he decided to leave the office immediately. Flyer did not understand why.

"What is wrong with your assistant?" asked Flyer to Dominic.

"Him?" Dominic replied. "Does not matter. He will get well soon."

"Whatever," Flyer said, "we do not need him."

"Hey, you four hang around in my room over there and have fun," Dominic said spontaneously while pointing his finger to a red coloured door in his office. Flyer went ahead, with his Flying Brothers, and checked out the room he was talking about.

When they opened the door, their eyes blinked fast, as if in shock. They probably should, because the room was filled with luxuries that they were content with. Since Dominic gave them the green light to use it, they went ahead and took advantage of the luxuries. They turned on the TV and sat on a nice leather couch, with a drinks machine within their sights. The drinks were free of charge.

"Woo-hoo!" a Flying Brother said to his friends. "This is great!"

"Indeed," Flyer said with a laugh. He let his friends enjoy their stay while he leaves the office to do something that was important to him. Meanwhile, Dominic was still enjoying a little humour on television, without having any regard for anyone else.

Policemen were seen working hard in the office. No surprise there. That is how they work, indoors or outdoors. They are used to the bundled paperwork in the police station anyway, if they are not assigned to any outdoor tasks. Jamal arrived in the station and immediately approached his friend Joe.

"Hi, what is it that you want to talk about?" asked Jamal to his colourful friend.

"It is like this," replied Joe. "The flying man known as Flyer is in town. This time, he is not alone."

"Really?"

"I am serious," Joe insisted. "He brought his friends, called the Flying Brothers. They did a lot of damage to the city. Look!" Joe pointed to the outdoors, and the city, which looked as if it just survived a big war. Jamal's eyes widened, his mouth opened wide as well. He could not believe the sight. He did not notice at first, but then he did.

Eddie the policeman was busy looking at his team-mate's computer. His team-mate's computer is capable of sensing the location of various people, for surveillance and safety reasons, as well as other things related to their work. When Eddie looked again at the computer, he saw a disturbance in the system. The pictures became more blurry as some sort of dot approached the computer graphics.

That dot was actually Flyer, who came to destroy the police station.

The police force was all alarmed. Policemen were immediately assigned to tasks, whether it was defending the interior or the exterior, or even shooting down the powerful Flyer. The chief took out his special, and significantly large, beam pistol which was given by the National Laboratory as means to contain crime when things get rough. Only one unit was available, so the chief used it.

However, Flyer's surprise appearance put the force into a state of shock. Civilians fled in huge numbers from the city to find a safe place as the man with the armed harness shot the police building. The shots fired were a lot stronger than the firepower of the defending policemen, so they were taken out of the battle. They sustained injuries and were immediately treated by some helpful people.

Joe, among others, felt the impact of the shot, and fell down the stairs. Luckily, he was not seriously injured. Jamal was still on the top floor, and he looked panicked. He was not feeling well that day anyway. However, he would be further surprised when the wall broke.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dust circulated on the area where a part of the station's wall used to stand. An impact from the powerful hand beam caused nearby policemen to be sent leaning on the other side of an undamaged wall. Eddie was unconscious, so were other policemen. Even the chief suffered an injury to his arm. He also lost his beam pistol and tried hard to find it.

Meanwhile, Flyer appeared after the dust cleared. He turned his attention to Jamal, who was still awake but shaken by the whole situation. Flyer's sights were set, and he directed his target on the young man. With no one, it seemed, to really assist him at that time, Jamal felt that he was close to death at an early age.

"Prepare to die!" the arrogant Flyer said as he was close to firing.

Then, he said, "Oh my God, please save me…"

Suddenly, Jamal felt a certain pull on the back of his shirt. It was Joe. His good friend dragged him down the stairs. So, down the stairs he went. The beam was instead shot towards the other side of the wall, creating a large hole.

Realising the damage he had done to the station, Flyer arrogantly exclaimed, "It seems that you all are very much defeated!" and a sinister laugh were produced.

Without his knowledge, the conscious chief had a beam pistol on his hands. He heard Flyer's words, and was not impressed at all. Instead, he prepared his pistol carefully, and declared, "Not all of us."

With that, a shot from the beam pistol directly hit Flyer, sending him out of the building. The high-tech beam pistol really did its work. Probably because it was in development for many years before being handed over to the police. The chief was impressed by it, but he had to make sure the arrogant villain was down and out.

To his surprise, he was down for a while, but certainly not out. No, he ran elsewhere. With the security cameras and computers broken, there was nothing he could do to track him down again.

Policemen in the building began to regain consciousness. While that was happening, Jamal had a conversation with Joe.

"I am saved," Jamal said. "Thank you very much, Joe."

"My pleasure, old friend," Joe said. "I had to do that, or else you might fry."

"Certainly," Jamal said. "And this is it, for me at least."

Joe was amazed by his friend's words, although he did not clearly understand it.

"What do you mean by 'this is it'?" asked Joe to Jamal.

"My career as a detective," Jamal said, "is officially over."

"What!?" exclaimed Joe. He got more surprised when he heard that.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Why should he not be surprised? It was with Jamal that Joe became one of Creamland's top detectives. It was also with him that Joe fought crime, brought justice to the land he lived in and even learned some good things along the way. For Joe, that decision was pretty hard to take, even from a person who is always spirited, no matter what he faced, as young Jamal.

But for Jamal, that was really it. He believed he could not do it anymore. In fact, he had other commitments in mind, especially to his family. To say that he was depressed might be going a bit too far, but lately, since he heard his parents talking about their issues, he did have a slight worry in his heart and mind.

In his mind, among other things, he felt the need to earn something for a living. Make no mistake, he did enjoy becoming a detective, but he himself revealed that, it was not really his thing. He felt that he had other, better things to do. After his bad dream, and a near-death encounter, the end was already in the writing.

The lonely figure said his goodbyes before he walked home, alone, his head pointing to the ground as if in anguish. But he felt it was the right thing to do. Young Jamal's return home was greeted by his family members, who were in cheerful mode, as if hiding the hardships they were currently facing.

However, the look on their child's face was a worrying sign to them.

"Son," Mr. Hashim asked, "is there any problem?"

"Actually," Jamal said, "no. It is nothing for you to worry about."

"If that is what you say," the father said, "just take a rest in your room. You look like you really need it."

"Sure," Jamal said, his face cheering up a little. "I will. Thanks."

"You are most welcome," Mr. Hashim said, before his young son began the walk up the stairs to his dark room.

Jamal sat on his bed, and though for a moment. Now that I quit the police force, what, then, should I do?, a question that he asked for some time. His mind was rolling as he thought of his memories from when he was a child, his hobby, his family, friends, etc. The last thing he thought about was his enjoyment of taking beautiful pictures of nature when he was a young boy, with his father's camera, before going to sleep.

Back at the station, members of the police force could not believe that Jamal left their team.

"This is terrible," Joe said. "How am I going to do my work now?"

"How are we going to do work?" Eddie asked. "With Jamal on our side, he helped a lot. A genius in more ways than one. He also helped you tie your shoes."

"Oh, forget that part, Eddie," Joe said. "Anyway, I asked him, why you chose to quit?"

"What did he say?" asked Eddie.

"Well," Joe replied, "nothing much, just that he had other things to do."

"Certainly," Eddie said, "that is his final decision. I cannot do anything about it, neither can you."

"I know," Joe said with a slightly disappointed look on his face. "But he will be remembered for his work in this force."

"One more thing," Eddie added, "If he wishes to come back, he is allowed to do so right away."

Eddie's words were soon sent via SMS to Jamal, along with other meaningful text messages. Jamal read them, and smiled. However, he woke up in the day with a free mind. He also felt a lot more energetic than he was, and a little less worried about other things. A significant change compared to the day before.

Still, the young man needed to find a way, to raise money for the family. Whatever it was, he headed downstairs for lunch, with a more relaxed look, and ate the pieces of chicken drummettes which were prepared on the table for the whole family.

Mr. Hashim was pleased to see that his son looked happy. Had he looked depressed, the father himself might be disappointed and sad. But it was good to know there is some good news after the misfortune that befell the family just a few days before. In fact, he had more good news that he would share with his family.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I have good news for everyone," Mr. Hashim said with a cheerful voice.

"Really?" Jamal asked in curiosity. "What is it?"

"You remember your cousin Baraq?" Mr. Hashim asked his son. "The one with the long hair?"

"Oh, that Baraq!" Jamal appeared to remember his close cousin. "What about him?"

"He is returning to Creamland," Mrs. Hashim said.

"And he will be coming here by the evening," Mr. Hashim said.

Jamal listened to his parents, and smiled. "Good to know," he said. "It has been a while since I last saw him"

Jamal was pleased to know that his cousin Baraq would be visiting in several hours's time. To him, Baraq is a very close cousin and friend. Sometimes, he was considered like a brother to the young man. In their younger years, they stayed together under the same roof, spending time playing many games that were memorable and fun.

Baraq was an orphan since he was at a very young age. He had no one in his life, but he would be taken care of by his uncle, the kind-hearted Mr. Hashim. From then onwards, the only child of the Hashim family, Jamal, would have a sort of companion in the house who was almost as old as he was. Baraq was only a few years younger than Jamal, but they got along just fine.

However, Baraq would soon continue his education in places far from his foster family's home. His education journey brought him to interesting, and even some historical, places where he learned a lot. Not only did he learn the usual science, mathematics, and English language, but he also learned more about life.

In his absence, the family still lived a happy life. In fact, it was Baraq who chose to take opportunities when it came. Jamal's cousin was gifted in some ways. He also did not care less to share his experiences with the slightly younger Jamal who, to himself, is like a little brother.

Anyway, Jamal was already full. Even two pieces of small drummettes were enough to keep him in good shape. There were still four more on the plate, which would be enjoyed by the elderly Mr. Hashim. Later, Jamal thought of borrowing his father's old camera.

"Father," Jamal said, "do you still have your favourite camera?"

"Which camera?" Mr. Hashim answered his son, and he looked lost, as if he did not remember the camera that he once used. However, it has been a long time since he last used it.

"The lightweight, orange and yellow-coloured camera," Jamal recalled.

Suddenly, upon hearing his son's description of the camera, Mr. Hashim remembered. "Oh, that camera? Sure."

"May I borrow it?" Jamal asked.

"Son," Mr. Hashim replied, "you can take it, because I no longer use it. It is in that drawer behind you. But please, take good care of it."

"Really?" Jamal said. "Thank you very much."

"You are most welcome, son," Mr. Hashim said with a laugh. Meanwhile, Jamal smelled delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. His mother seemed to be cooking something special. It turned out that the food was curry chicken, specially made for the returning Baraq and the whole family to enjoy for dinner.

"But mother," Jamal said, "the food might get cold. Dinner is many hours away from now."

"It is okay," Mrs. Hashim replied. "I can reheat them all in one plate and serve it all. I hope you all will enjoy it."

"I hope I will," Jamal said. He then shook hands with both his parents before leaving with his father's camera. Where would he be heading? Well, he would walk to several places and enjoy the scenery of the beautiful morning. Equipped with a camera, he decided to take beautiful pictures, the best that he could manage.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

While Jamal was hanging around the neighborhood, his friend Joe was leaning against a wall, on the rooftops of a building beside the police station, which was under repairs. He was also whistling to some random tunes, hands firmly in his pockets. His eyes were staring blankly at the sky.

Eddie realised his pal on the rooftop, just as he was leaving the police station. He decided to join his friend, to see what he had to say, or needed help with. Joe was looking clueless, by the way, especially with his blank stare.

However, when Eddie reached out to him, he felt as if he woke up from sleep. His nerves were still functioning, and he responded to Eddie's hand waving in front of his head.

"Hello there," Eddie said to Joe. "Looks like you are enjoying the morning."

"Oh, it is you," a rather surprised Joe replied. "Sure, I was enjoying the scenery. Sort of."

"Lots of broken buildings," Eddie said, "and I wonder what you enjoy looking at in this broken city."

"Well," Joe said, "I was looking at the sky."

"That is it?"

"I was also thinking about things."

"Of what? Jamal?"

"No…not really. It is okay. I was actually thinking of these."

Joe then handed over a notebook to Eddie. Confused, Eddie opened the notebook, only to see some sketches made by Joe, of birds flying in groups. Eddie was impressed, and slightly laughed. He laughed when he noticed a bald eagle flying below the smaller birds.

"What is the eagle doing?" Eddie asked his friend.

"That eagle?" Joe said. "Oh, he is just passing through. Seriously, he passed through just now."

"Really?" Eddie asked.

"Really," Joe said in an optimistic tone. "I saw it. In fact, I saw all the birds flying on the sky, with my own eyes."

Eddie smiled, and stopped for a moment. Thoughts circulated in his mind, too. The idea of birds brought him back to the time when he usually spends time in the park. Back then, he, along with a young Joe, and Jamal, plus a few others, enjoyed playing in the park. At the same time, he and Joe noticed the appearance of a very beautiful, blue and white-coloured bird called a jay. The jay flew by and was almost within reach of Joe's hands, but he did not get to touch it. Still, they enjoyed looking at that bird.

Eddie still remembered fondly of his childhood memories.

"Joe," Eddie said, "do you remember the jay bird?"

"The blue jay bird?" Joe said. "Sure!"

"It is a very beautiful bird," Eddie said, "and thinking about it, I also came up with something else."

"What else?" Joe asked. "A custom-made bird?"

"No," Eddie assured, "I thought of a costume that resembles a jay bird's skin."

When he heard Eddie's words, Joe laughed loudly. He realised his friend was as imaginative as he could be. He then asked the purpose of the costume. Eddie did not give a long answer, but he only said that a hero was needed to save the city from crime. Joe nodded and smiled, and his friend left afterwards, to get lunch.

Joe looked on as his friend left. What was that about?, he thought as his friend walked away. He then realised that he did not ask for his notebook back.

"My notebook!" Joe shouted. Fortunately, Eddie realised his mistake. He immediately turned around and gave the book back.

"Thanks a lot," Joe said.

"Very sorry for that," Eddie said, shaking his head in embarrasement.

Joe was fine with his friend's mistake. He forgave and forgot about it anyway. However, he did not really understand the need for a costume in fighting crime. Was Eddie planning to don a jay costume? Or was it his proposal for a new project involving his friends?

As Eddie walked home, he folded his arms around his body as the morning coolness set in. The temperature in the morning usually is usually low, and increased only near the afternoon before decreasing again when late in the evening. Anyway, Eddie was just sharing what he thought was something that he thought might be a good idea, because the city was not a safe place.

Villains crept in from many ends of the earth and threaten to disrupt the peace, even destroying the city and taking control of it. The police force was quite limited thus far, with not many skilled members and limited firepower to stop the new supervillains that appeared in town. In fact, Eddie himself believed that he was losing interest in the force's deficiency at that time. He just wanted to stop crime, because that was what he enjoyed.

As for his friends, one of them recently departed. Jamal no longer wanted any part. Before him, there were several policemen who stepped down from their duties, regardless of their age or rank. They thought they had enough on their hands to take care of, so they made their call. Joe

The damage was done? Well, sort of. But not unless someone could make a change. Eddie rushed home when he could not bear the cold. He was shivering. A few passers-by, who are young policemen, saw their senior detective flee the city.

"Eddie, where are you going?" one of them asked.

"Home," Eddie replied. "I feel like I am getting a cold. It is cold out here," he said as he made his way out of the city, and towards his modest but beautiful house.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The time was 3.00 pm. Jamal was in Ninja Village, a small village near a thick forest in the outskirts of Creamland. He was observing nature in a clearer way, which was, by walking around the well-maintained village area. He went across many tall trees which sort of greeted him on his way across the village. There were also some beautiful plants which looked healthy and the flowers blossomed in the sunny evening.

Young Jamal just took as many pictures as he could. The surroundings illuminated his heart and mind. At first, he realised that the camera lens was dusty, restricting his concentration on a particular object. So, he turned off the camera for a while, and cleaned the lens. He then continued taking pictures with delight. Nearby, he saw some animals moving across the thick forest in groups, probably searching for food, but the animals were not harmful in any way to the inhabitants of the village.

As he walked along, he noticed people heading across a small bridge. When he got closer, he noticed that the bridge leads to a tiny island. The village and the island were separated by a river, whose water was seen running smoothly without any obstacle blocking the flow. As he walked across the old but strong bridge he began to see more of God's creation.

Indeed, the island is small, but it is abundant with greenery. There are not many people nor land animals. Instead, there is an abundance of plants, from small watering plants to big trees like the ones seen in the village Jamal just passed by earlier. Most of the plants in the island are known to be as old as 500 years.

Jamal was curious about a banana tree in front of him. He then touched the old banana tree and felt impressed when he looked around to see more banana trees. He was even more impressed when he took another look at all the plant species available. Anyway, the younger banana trees looked healthy, and their fruits ripe.

Without much hesitation, Jamal snapped pictures after pictures of the beautiful landscape. His camera produced a sound as he clicked on it to take pictures, but the sound was not loud and did not disrupt anyone nearby.

Great, Jamal thought, I think I am going to do my best as a photographer for a newspaper company. That thought came into mind as he was resting under a tree after having quite a long day. Not long after that, he realised that he forgot about his cousin's homecoming. Thus, he ran at blazing speed to get home.

When he got home, he would be surprised by the appearance of his cousin, alongside his family. It turned out that his cousin made it in time, during the evening. Same thing for Jamal, who thought he came home a little late, but it was okay with everyone.

"Jamal! Good to see you again," Baraq said.

"Hi there, Baraq," Jamal replied. "It has been a while, but here we are again," he said with a laugh.

"Good to see that you both still recognise each other," Mr. Hashim joked. Everyone else laughed.

Baraq replied, "Of course I remember all of you. I sort of grew up here."

The Hashims and Baraq calmly entered Mr. Hashim's house. Jamal and Baraq sat on the dining table, while Mr. and Mrs. Hashim prepared the chicken for dinner. While they were preparing the chicken, Jamal took time to talk to Baraq. They did not talk face to face for a very long time.

"So," Jamal said, "how was New Zealand?"

"Good," Baraq said with a smile, "and pretty cold."

"I see," Jamal said. "Same thing right here, especially in the morning."

"I see," Baraq said.

"How did your study in economics go?"

"The usual," Baraq replied. "A goes up, B goes down, C goes somewhere else, etc."

Jamal was puzzled as he did not know what his cousin was really talking about. Baraq later told him that the alphabets A, B and C were just examples of stock markets.

"Now I get it," Jamal said as soon as he was told. "Glad to know you know something about it."

"I learned for many years, Jamal," the long-haired cousin of Jamal replied.

The long, and straight-haired Baraq drank a cup of coffee. In his coat, he looked neat and tidy. He carefully put the cup down before continuing the conversation. That way, he does not spill coffee on the table.

"Which part of New Zealand did you stay in?" asked Jamal.

"I stayed in Auckland," replied Baraq. "My college is also in Auckland."

"I heard that New Zealand is a beautiful country," said Jamal.

"Sure," replied Baraq. "I loved seeing the greenery whenever I walk along the road."

"There are lots of trees?"

"Not just trees, but also other plants and green grass, all aplenty. Did I tell you about the sheep?"

"Did you?"

"I believe I did not, but I tell you now, the sheep is one of my favourite animals. They look cute, especially the small ones. I saw them everyday over in NZ."

Jamal and Baraq would share more stories with each other. They also filled the house with laughter and occasional humour.

Baraq took the time to ask his younger cousin about what he does. Jamal just told him that he carried out his usual hobbies, like writing, drawing, and taking pictures. Baraq smiled when he heard his cousin's words. "Good to know you are doing something beneficial," he said.

After spending a long time talking, a plate of large curry chicken was prepared on the table by Mr. and Mrs. Hashim. The chicken had a nice smell and they all prepared to eat it. Baraq was surprised and said, "Wow! This is a surprise."

Mr. Hashim said, "Let us all thank God for this gift, and eat our hearts out." With the recitation of religious words in the name of God, they then ate the chicken together. From the look of things, they enjoyed their meal.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Night time emerged. It was already 8.00 pm. The Kid Detectives, who are a group of five young kids who are devoted to fighting crime as detectives, were in the basement of little Kairo's house. The kids, Kairo, Majid, Alif, Aman and Marib, were sitting together on chairs, reading a newspaper. Majid then read about an article regarding the Flying Brothers.

"Brothers!" Majid said to his friends, "check this out!"

The kids were alerted by the attacks that the Flying Brothers made towards the city of Creamland. They all got shocked, and worried. However, as detectives, they thought they should do something.

Then, the walkie talkie sounded. The voice of the police chief could be heard. He was talking about a smuggling activity, somewhere in Swan Falls. There appeared to be a group of people holding briefcases containing artefacts which were stolen, to exchange with illegal couriers who were on their way. All of the events were taking place in an abandoned plantation site, near the sea.

"Oh, now what?" Kairo said in disbelief. It looked like they had one work added to another.

"Well, which work is more important?" Majid asked.

"I believe that," Alif said, "we should stop the smugglers, because it is our responsibility as detectives."

"Good point," Kairo said.

"Kid Detectives," Majid said in a raised tone, "let us move!"

The five children left the basement area and sprang into action. They entered a van, driven by their loyal assistant, which peeled off to the distance. It appeared logical that the assistant drove because he has a valid driving license, and children are not allowed to obtain one yet. Whatever it was, they were on their way to Swan Falls.

At the same time, Eddie, in his own basement, was using a sewing machine with ease, when he heard his walkie talkie. He was very close to finishing a set of jay bird themed costume, and was a little upset that he could not finish it that night. Still, he had work to do, ad that was to catch artifact smugglers in Swan Falls.

On his table, he completed a mask so far, and he wore that mask. The mask was just a regular cotton mask, was dark blue in colour. It was planned to be designed, along with the unfinished full costume, but since he had to hurry up, he had to make do with what he held at that time.

Eddie was actually a fan of masked heroes and superheroes. He believed that wearing a mask might help him fight crime more effectively, without many people recognising him as he take down the villains. In fact, Eddie had been working on his fighting technique as of late, in his house, and he hoped that his work would pay off eventually.

Whatever it was, a number of policemen rushed to the scene, but at the same time avoiding attention from potential troublemakers. Sometimes, smugglers bring their bodyguards along as means to cover up on their activities. Fortunately, the police knew what they had to do.

The Kid Detectives would have no problem, because they are not working for the police. Instead, the kids are actually private detectives who are keen on working when they have the time. Their black van found a safe spot to park when they arrived at the abandoned plantation in Swan Falls. At the same time, a brave but clueless Joe was on top of a tree, and used his goggles to look at the smugglers. However, he could not get down yet, because a bodyguard appeared just under the tree. Joe had to be careful with his steps to avoid recognition.

When Joe walked backwards, he accidentally stepped and cracked a tree branch. Luckily for him, no one noticed. The bodyguard guarding the tree looked left and right, but he saw nothing, so he got back to work. Joe breathed a sigh of relief.

The kids hid behind small boxes. Since the boxes were small, and so were they, things got a little easier for them. Their van just moved around the block, remaining anonymous. While that was happening, the smugglers waited for the appearance of the courier that they were supposed to meet.

Later, a white-coloured boat arrived. In the boat was the courier. Once the boat was parked, the courier, a black man, dressed in black clothes and black hat, leaped out with a briefcase full of money on his right hand. The smugglers, who were wearing ski masks, looked on as he approached them.

"What took you so long?" a smuggler asked the courier.

"Tsunami," the courier joked.

"Are you kidding?" the smuggler said. "Tsunami does not happen very often, you know."

"Fine," replied the courier. "I was held back by some huge waves. This is the rainy season, anyway."

"Whatever," the smuggler said, "just give us the money, and we give you the artifacts.

Joe, having seen the deal taking place, leaped off the tree and towards the bodyguard. The impact left the guard down, while Joe was feeling a little dizzy. He would later be taken down by Majid, because Majid thought he was one of the smugglers.

"Looks like two are down," Majid said.

"And more to go," Kairo said.

The appearance of the Kid Detectives were realised by the smugglers and the courier. The smugglers attempted to fight the five kids, but the courier took the artifacts and his own money back. He wanted to escape on his boat.

"Stop right there!" Majid said to the fleeing courier.

"No way," the courier said in a fearful voice. "I am getting out of here!"

"No!" the smugglers said. "Not you children!"

"It is us children," Aman, one of the Kid Detectives said. "And we will put you thugs to jail."

With that, a fight ensued. The kids battled it out together to defeat the smugglers.

However, a masked Eddie was there. He ran at a very fast speed and jumped off to the sea, hoping that he would make it into the boat. He narrowly missed, but just made it. He also missed the spinning fans on the back of the boat. Phew, he thought.

His presence alarmed the courier.

"You?" the courier said again, as if he panicked. "What are you doing here? And why do you wear a mask?"

"Does not really matter," Eddie said bravely.

"You are going down!" said the courier as he took out his laser pistol. The laser pistol was shot twice. The first shot was avoided by Eddie, but it hit the boat's fan. The second shot actually hit Eddie and sent him to the sea. Eddie was fast falling into the seabed while the boat disappeared from sight.

It was a good thing that Eddie regained consciousness in time to escape from the seabed. He swam upwards, back to the surface, while the boat was out of reach. Eddie looked upset, but he swam back to land as he was very near.

The courier was relieved that he managed to take down Eddie. He felt that he was in free air, but not for long, as a group of policemen in boats surrounded him afterwards. The courier offered little resistance as he was disarmed from his laser pistol, and he had to surrender when he had no weapon left to use.

"All right!" the courier cried. "I surrender!"

"Good," a policeman said. "That takes care of one. What about your friends?"

"Err…sir," a younger policeman said, "I received a report from Joe. He said that the smugglers were taken care of, by some kids who call themselves Kid Detectives."

"What?" the older policeman said in disbelief.

It appeared the kids really managed to beat the smugglers. The six smugglers and their three bodyguards were tied up together under a tree, while Joe looked on, shaking his head. He would later be joined by Eddie.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Eddie!" Joe shouted to his companion. "Where were you all this time?"

"I…uh…swam here," Eddie replied.

"Wait a minute…" Joe said, "you were the one wearing that mask just now?"

"Well," Eddie said, "you got me right there. I did wear a mask."

Joe laughed when he heard that.

"Joe," Eddie said, "it is not funny. Not funny at all."

"But you did great," Joe said.

"What do you mean great? I was taken out with a laser, and had to swim back to shore. Now I am wet! Brrr…it is freezing!"

"Oh, I see," Joe said. "Sorry for what happened. Let me help you get home."

"It is okay," Eddie said. "I can go home myself."

"About that mask," Joe said, "are you going to wear it again?"

Eddie looked at his friend and gave a reply. "Hmm…why not?"

"All right," Joe said.

"But no one should know that The Jay was here."

"The Jay?" Joe said, as if he heard something very strange. "Why, is that your secret identity?"

Eddie realised that there were many people around him, and he decided to tell Joe privately about the secret identity he came up with.

The senior detective in the police force assured his friend Joe that he meant well in his actions. He fought as The Jay as means to cover up his identity, and to keep himself safe from recognition. Furthermore, the villains were getting stronger, and probably a costume could scare them off. In fact, Eddie loved some superhero drawings. He was inspired not only by the jay birds, but also comic books.

"Wow!" Joe said.

"That is it," Eddie said.

"So, what happens to Eddie the detective?" Joe asked.

"Eddie the detective?" Eddie said. "Well…I think I am going to discuss this matter…"

Joe's words led to him thinking, where would Eddie, the regular face in the police force, stand when he takes on the role of The Jay? That was something important that he needed to talk to about.

Then, Eddie looked at Joe. He had a larger amount of trust in his companion, who had been with him since, well, school days. Their friendship is strong and it is best to keep it that way. Eddie believed that his friend could keep a secret, but what will happen to the detective role that he used to play?

Suddenly, an idea was brought in by Joe.

"Eddie," he said, "you know that we are supposed to work together, right?"

"We?" Eddie said.

"All of us," Joe said. "The police force, should be a united force, and we can rebuild our strength from time to time."

Eddie was confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked in a slightly raised voice.

"What I am talking about," Joe replied, "is that only the police should know that The Jay is Eddie. Nobody else should know."

"Oh, great," Eddie said, "then information will be leaked, and people will know sooner or later. I do not see how it might help."

But, come to think of it, Joe's idea was okay. Only the police know Eddie is The Jay, but no one else outside the force. Unfortunately, there are fears for information leaks, and espionage, which might cause info to be given away to the enemies. Those sorts of things do happen sometimes.

Joe actually had another plan.

"Look," Joe said, "if you have a problem, you can tell me."

"All right…" Eddie said, but then, he realised something. Since Joe is a very trusted individual, and working together would not be much problem, he decided to make Joe his sidekick. Joe was not really amused.

"Sidekick?" Joe said in shock. "I am no one's sidekick. I am my own man."

Eddie realised he pushed the point too far, but he corrected himself by saying, "Sorry, but what I meant was…we work together, both of us as The Jay."

"Impossible!" Joe replied. "People might get confused later."

"Do you want to fight crime, Joe?" Eddie asked.

"Sure," Joe replied. "I am always prepared to fight crime."

"Then, I suggest we take care of each other, and unite as friends, to defeat the enemies of the city!"

"You are sounding a tad too dramatic."

"Yeah," Eddie said, shaking his head in embarrassment. "So, what now?"

Joe thought for a moment. He eventually made up his mind. He said, "Well…I will be The Jay as well. Maybe I can come up with a different name, but I am not your sidekick!"

"A different name?" Eddie said. "Err…no problem! Good! That way, easy to differentiate between The Jay and…whatever you call yourself."

"Turns out that I am also a crime fighter, and would like to fight crime not as a policeman, but a private detective called…Thugbuster."

Eddie's eyes were wide open, so was his mouth. "What kind of name is that?"

"On second thougts…," Joe added, "…better off to call myself, the costumed McGyver. My name is Buster!"

"Buster…," Eddie said, "that is not bad, but the McGyver part…I do not get it."

Joe picked his pocket, and he brought out a little plastic. What is in a little black plastic, Eddie thought. Joe opened the plastic and took out a little black box.

"What is this?"

As Joe opened the box, he presented to his friend, some of his tools that led him to come up with the name McGyver. Eddie was clueless, again. Joe soon realised he came up with a terrible name.

"Oh, maybe I should just forget it," Joe said. "Whatever, Buster is born today!"

"Great," Eddie said, "but what about the other members in the force?"

"Do not worry," Joe said. "They will not recognise our disappearance."

Suddenly, the Kid Detectives appeared out of nowhere.

"Eh?" Majid said. "I thought I put you to sleep just now."

"Why, you…" Joe said as if he was about to hit that little child.

"Joe," Eddie said as he waved Joe to the side, "please show good example to children."

"What are you two doing here?" Majid asked.

"We are detectives working for the police force," Eddie said.

"Yeah," Joe said. "A-class detectives."

"Err…that is not really true," Eddie said to everyone present, pointing out to his earlier misfortunes.

"Oh," Kairo said, "you both are detectives?"

"I believe we all met them before," Alif said. "Remember the courier meeting in town?"

Kairo and the rest tried to recall. Eventually, they remembered about the three young detectives who helped them out by defeating the illegal couriers that day. Two of them were present in front of them at the moment.

"Where is the other detective?" Alif asked. "I recalled there were three of you."

"Well," Joe said, "he had more important things to do."

"No matter," Kairo said, "we are also detectives."

"What detectives?" Eddie asked.

"Private detectives," Kairo replied firmly, with a smile.

"Wow!" Eddie said. "So, you all work privately, with no assistance by the police force?"

"Like Kairo said," said Majid, "we work privately. Not much police funding, no problem! We got enough in our hands. Now, we have to take care of some Flying Brothers, but I am more interested in eating sandwich tonight."

"Too bad," Kairo said, "I ate part of your sandwich."

"What?" Majid said angrily. "Oh, never mind."

"What is with this long conversation?" Joe said. "Eddie, we should get going now. You kids, see you all next time! Goodbye!" Joe added while waving his hand, with Eddie doing the same beside him. They retreated to the neighborhood they live in.

On their way home, Eddie looked happy. He drove his dated car with a smile on his face. Joe could not help but notice his friend's change in appearance.

"What are you smiling about?" Joe asked Eddie.

"Nothing much," Eddie said, "but I believe I am coming close to a solution."

Joe nodded and left his friend to do the thinking while he drove off at normal speed.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Raul was back in the office. Having left earlier to clear his head and get some fresh air, he breathed strongly before stepping into Dominic's office. He would not be too pleased when he set foot into it. There were not only dust, but also rubbish, litter and leftover food, scattered across the room. Even a cat was seen chasing a mice. Raul slapped his face in disbelief.

"Dominic!" Raul shouted. "Where are you?"

Dominic appeared in the office. He was out for a walk just before Raul stepped in.

"What is it, Raul?" Dominic said, as if he was unaware of the condition of his office.

"Why is this office so messy?" asked Raul.

"Hmm…," Raul said while drinking his regular coffee, "I do not know."

Raul slapped his face again, and was left head scratching in anger. Later, members of the Flying Brothers came out of Dominic's private room, kicking the empty soda cans on the floor. Having seen them appear, Raul got angrier.

"You three," Raul said, "do you realise what you have done to this place?"

"Sure," one of the Flying Brother said, "we brought in the janitor to clean up the mess."

"Who threw the soda cans and the fries on the floor?" asked Raul, with a fierce look on his face, and his sharp eyes.

"He did," the Brother pointed to his companion. With that came an argument over who threw the cans and the fries on the floor. Raul was getting pretty annoyed and thought to shut them up.

"Enough!" screamed Raul, with a thundering voice. His eyes were sore, and the look on his face really showed his feelings. "You have not contributed much to city domination so far. I believe our collaboration should, as we say, come to a conclusion."

"What?" a Brother said in disbelief. "Where will our money go?"

"Down the drain," said Raul bravely. He really had enough of the Brothers's antics, regardless of Dominic's treatment towards them. Raul is an easy going person, but when he gets mean, he gets really mean.

The Flying Brothers were angered by the end of the partnership as stated by Raul. Raul was then shoved to the ground, with little resistance on the smaller assistant of Dominic. At that time, Dominic was still taking a sip from his favourite coffee.

"Brothers," one of the Brothers said, "let us leave this junk."

Raul was down, but not out. Having recovered from the flat ground, he put his hand in the pocket of his jacket, and took out some sort of weapon. Then, with a direct aim at one of the Brothers's harnesses, he shot the weapon. The shot caused the harness to malfunction and, in turn, catch fire. The other two Brothers looked on. One was terrified, while one attempted to attack Raul, who was still on the ground.

Even though he was sitting on the ground, Raul's weapon of choice was just too strong and could take down a sophisticated machine like the flying harness that Flyer created. Several shots and the other two Brothers were taken down. They fainted in fear and defeat, with their harnesses as good as finished.

Dominic just finished drinking, and when he looked at what was going on in front of him, he could not believe.

"What just happened?" Dominic said, as if he heard nothing.

"This," Raul said, referring to his weapon, "is a weapon, a pistol I created by myself. This is one of many other weapons that I created, to take down anyone who crosses our paths. Paths of Dominic, and me."

"What have you done, Raul?" Dominic asked in surprise. "We made a deal with them, with Flyer. We would give them money in return for control of the city."

"I do not care," Raul said. "I electrocuted them, disarmed their harness as well. They are still working, by the way."

"How do you know?"

"Look at them, they still have the functions necessary to be started out later."

"That pistol of yours…how did you do it?"

"Dominic," Raul said, "you did not know that I am a scientist. I created this pistol in a short time. All it took was some chemical combinations. It may seem a little complex, but people with my expertise can do it."

His words, although seemed a little arrogant, were clear to Dominic, that his assistant was not just some small-time thug, but rather, a sophisticated, intelligent scientist. However, Dominic did not understand chemistry, because he did not care much about it, even during his school days.

"You are a scientist?" Dominic asked.

"Yes," replied Raul with a smile.

"Then, why not you give the weapons to our men? We can all be rich with them. Rich!"

"I do not need to do that. Besides the weapons I told you about, I also carry out experiments."

"Now that is a real scientist."

"Whatever. I have created not only weapons, but I started making Artificially Intelligent Robots, just recently. So far, it is a success."

"Artificially Intelligent Robots? AIR?"

"Precisely."

"Raul, can I be your lab partner?"

"No."

"No?"

"No! No one should interfere with my work. Not you, nor anyone."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Then, Flyer showed up. He heard the conversation and was not at all amused when he saw his brothers lying almost motionless on the floor. They were still alive, but weak and downed. Their harnesses were partially functional, but that was it. Raul's electrocution pistol seemed to cause some short-circuit to parts of the harnesses, and the weapons connected to the harnesses no longer worked.

"Well," said Raul, "if it is not Mr. Flyer. Convenient with being a fly on the wall?"

"I heard you," Flyer said, "and it seems that you underestimated my power."

"I do not have to look up to people like you," said Raul. "I have everything I need, and you only have youself. Nothing else, it seems, because I took down your brothers."

"Wrong," Flyer said, "I still have these."

Flyer was referring to his laser beams. His beams were aimed at Raul, but somehow Raul was able to avoid them by jumping towards the back of a couch. Dominic looked on as the furious Flyer gave out shots after shots, until one of them created a hole on the couch. Dominic was very angry.

"Flyer!" said Dominic. "You have to pay for that!"

"I will deal with you later, Dominic," said Flyer as he got preoccupied with chasing a rather fast Raul.

"No way are you going to catch me," said Raul as he stood near the window of Dominic's office. But Flyer, equipped with a harness, was too quick. He flew at a lightning fast speed, towards Raul. In turn, the expensive glass window of the office broke, because of the force applied through the impact. Dominic just stared in shock. "No, not my windows!" he screamed.

Flyer held on to Raul, and flew him upwards. Raul could not do anything. He did attempt to shoot his electrocuting pistol, but Flyer went too fast that he lost his grip on the pistol. So it fell to the ground and broke.

"No matter!" said Raul. "I can build more in my place."

"I do not care," Flyer said, "but you are going down. Before that, I will shut you up by tying you to that flag pole."

Flyer meant what he said. He tied Raul to an unused flag pole, and caused him to have his face pointed downwards, towards the streets. After he was done with tying him up, he flew back to the office, to check the condition of the harnesses, and his brothers.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Meanwhile, the Kid Detectives, who just finished dealing with smugglers, received news of the Flying Brothers's whereabouts from a trusted source. Without much hesitation, the kids headed to Dominic's tall building, where his office is located. But they did not come as the kids that they are. Instead, they joined in a disguise.

Majid would be accompanied by his friends. They held on to each other while they put on a big brown coat, while Majid put on a dark red coloured hat. With the disguise method applied, they entered the building bravely.

They approached a nearby receptionist. The receptionist was a man with a thick white moustache and dressed in a uniform similar to those worn by policemen, although it was not a police uniform. They asked the receptionist the directions to Dominic's office. However, the receptionist declined to tell at first, but later agreed after being told of a 'very important meeting that the boss needs to attend.'

"Why not you tell him via SMS, or call him?" the receptionist asked the disguised kids.

"Telephone broke," Majid said with a slightly deep voice, to make the disguise work. "Besides, I do not use mobile phones."

The receptionist raised his eyebrows. His moustache was slightly raised, too. He had a stern look on his face. Majid and his companions thought that the look meant that he was not convinced.

Actually, he agreed to let them in.

"That will do," he said. "Enjoy your conversation with the boss."

"Okay," said Majid, again with the deep voice. They quickly fled the reception centre to find a way to the office.

Dominic's building had some sort of security technique where a card is needed for just one individual to access the ninth to 20th floor of the 20-storey building.

"Uh oh," Kairo said, "looks like we are stranded without a member card."

Then, while looking around the compound, Majid found an opening on a wall. He took a look, and discovered a somewhat hidden path to ascend to the top floors. All of a sudden, the kids became happy and optimistic. One by one, the kids moved out of the coat and into the dark, narrow pathway that the opening led them to.

"Ouch!" Kairo said when his head hit a curved surface in the dark.

"Be careful, Kairo," said Majid to his friend.

Luckily, Alif and Marib brought along small torchlights to assist their friends. The torchilights may be small, but effective, especially in the dark.

Flyer reappeared in the office. He was in a heated argument with Dominic.

"I do not know who you think you are," said Dominic to the flying man, "but you are going to pay for the damages to my office."

"Oh, really?" Flyer asked.

"Really," Dominic said, his eyes staring straight at Flyer's. He was really furious.

The janitor who was still sweeping the floor noticed the two men arguing, but he did not bother much. Instead, he put on his headphones and got back to work.

"It seems," Flyer said, "that your friend Raul is a traitor."

"I do not care about him," Dominic said. "I never did, really. And I do not care about you. Whoever you are, you have to pay for the damages."

"How much?"

"5 million!" Dominic exclaimed. Flyer was shocked and punched Dominic.

"How dare you?" Flyer said in anguish. "It is you who should pay, because we did the work for you! We swept the city for domination!"

"No way!"

"You know something? We deserve to rule the city. We! Not you, not Raul, not anyone else, because it was us who did the work."

With those words, Flyer approached his hurt friends, who were still recovering, while Dominic just stood in silence and bitterness over many things.

While that was going on, the Kid Detectives were welcome when the door to the office was open. They just went in and said, "Not so fast!" together.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Kid Detectives?" Flyer said.

"Calm down, children," Dominic said. "No need to rush."

"Whatever," Kairo said. "We heard you are in partnership with the new kids on the block."

"What?" Dominic said. "No! It is the Flying Brothers!"

"What is up with you?" Majid asked Kairo, who spoke wrongly.

"Err…sorry," Kairo said. "My mistake."

Kairo then realised there was only one of the Brothers still standing.

"There seems to be no more Flying Brothers," he said. "But just a flying brother over there."

"Well then," Alif said, "let us catch them!"

A fight began. The kids were small and, if compared to the fully-equipped Flyer and a furious, irritated Dominic, they looked to be no match for them. However, all they had to do was work together, and use what skills they have to hopefully bring the enemies to justice.

It was not easy. Flyer was already floating on air, and moving at a fast rate. He kept the room under surveillance as he roamed left and right with ease. Even while roaming the room, he was able to fire his laser beam from his hand gloves. The kids had to frequently hide on empty spaces, or behind the couch. Surprisingly, Dominic just looked on without much action.

"Dominic!" Flyer said. "I need some help here."

"Forget it," was Dominic's reply. He would eventually stop standing there, but he left his office and went somewhere else.

However, Alif and Majid spotted him and went after him, to make sure he was brought to justice. The other three kids, Kairo, Aman and Marib focused on avoiding the attacks by the Flyer. Shots after shots were fired, until another window broke.

Suddenly, right after the window broke, a huge stream of air movement became present. Since the office was on one of the top floors, air felt to be moving a little fast into the office that lost two glass windows. The kids had to hold on to something to avoid falling off the building. Even Flyer was struggling to hold on while floating.

Eventually, Dominic was caught, and tied with a string by Alif, without much resistance. Actually, Dominic fell to the ground, his face hitting the ground flat. That caused him to go out cold. As for Flyer, he was resisting the fast air movement, but he would later be hit by small rocks, and flying birds. The birds were pushed into the office, and they would work hard to get out of it afterwards.

The intervention allowed Kairo to get close enough to break the harness. Kairo tried his luck by jumping towards Flyer, even at times of high air pressure and movement, to shoot his water pistol on the harness. His first shot missed the harness, and he would be caught by Flyer.

Flyer was about to finish Kairo off with his beam, but just in the nick of time, he managed to shoot his water pistol with full power. On full power, the pistol released a lot of water that would enter the harness and eventually rendered it unusable. The recovered Brothers were not able to assist their leader, as they were all tied up by the kids, along with Dominic, who was dragged into the room after he fainted.

After Flyer's harness broke, he did try to fight back, but teamwork by Kairo and Majid enabled the two kids to take the bigger man down. The air would move at a slower speed than previously, to the relief of the kids.

Majid checked on Kairo, who was almost taken out.

"Are you okay, Kairo?" Majid asked.

"Yes," Kairo said. "I am fine," he continued, before bursting to tears because he almost got killed.

"Please," Alif said, "do not cry, little brother," he continued to comfort his friend. "You are fine now."

"Okay…" Kairo said as he wiped his tears away. He soon said, "…thank you for helping me, all of you."

"You are most welcome!" an enthusiastic Aman said. "We did it! We just captured the villains of this city."

"I guess we did," Majid said. "So, let us send them to the police."

"Then, what?" Kairo asked.

"Then…" Alif said, "…it is 9.30 pm. Tomorrow is still a weekend. So…we play!"

"Good idea," Majid said. "Let us play the PlayStation after we go to Kairo's house."

"Okay," Kairo said, still wiping his face, but with a smile.

While the kids brought along the criminals out of the building, they would coincidentally meet some young policemen. The policemen would thank the kids for catching them, and they would be brought to justice. Then, the kids could go home and have fun while it lasts.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"What?" Joe screamed. "You cannot possibly think that I can manage this."

"But you sure know something about this work," Eddie said. "I mean, you work as a cashier in the supermarket. As a cashier, you work with a computer near you."

"I know," Joe added, "but I am not going to track down the enemies just like that. What if they see me?"

"They will not," Eddie assured. "I am very sure they will not."

"Eddie," Joe said, "we talked through this, and I think…"

"What…?" Eddie asked.

Joe stopped for a moment. He took a plain water to drink, and to keep his brain functioning well. Later, he started talking again.

"Hmm…," Joe said, "come to think of it…at least I get to stay indoors."

"Agreed," Eddie said. "Totally. You only stay indoors. You spent too much time outdoors, by the way."

"Agreed," Joe said. "But so did you."

"Yes, I know I did," Eddie replied. "It is part of my job."

"Before this conversation get any complicated," Joe said, "I am going to say…fine. I agree with assisting you in your missions against crime. I will do my best, sir!"

"No," Eddie said. "Do not call me sir. I hope we can do this as a friend to friend request."

"Okay," Joe said, his face cheering up a little. "But I will still be a part of the police force. A detective."

"Of course," Eddie said. "The semi-private detective."

"You can say that," Joe said.

"So," Eddie added with a smile, "are we still friends?"

Joe looked at his friend with a stern look, but that look was just a joke he pulled. He would say, "Yes." Their friendship would still go on, even though Eddie would become The Jay, and Joe becomes the watchman who keeps track of events in the city.

A strange conclusion for the two? You might say that, but it is good to know that they finally made up their minds. As for Jamal, he was still in his house, talking to his cousin Baraq. They would enjoy a game of computer ping-pong and Warcraft before going to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The next day, Jamal would go to the city to find a job. He walked a few miles from his neighborhood to the city and arrived in a pool of sweat. Suddenly, as the air blew, it also blew a brochure towards the young man's left leg.

Jamal realised the presence of that brochure and picked it up with his right hand. The brochure stated, 'Looking for interested applicants. To whoever interested in taking photos for Warqah Newspaper, please call the number below. Quote, Ed.' Sure looked like a job application, and one that Jamal wanted. So, he went ahead and called the number. However, no one answered.

Jamal also realised that he did not finish reading the brochure. It stated below the previous sentence, 'For pictures, please send to our new office. It is in the Ninja Village.' Just in a short time, a taxi appeared in front of the young man. Since he was already tired from a long walk to the city, he took the taxi to Ninja Village, where he previously saw beautiful sceneries.

The trip from the city to Ninja Village took almost 10 minutes, but there was no rush. It was still morning time. When Jamal stepped off the taxi after paying the driver, he saw that the new building of the Warqah Newspaper Company was made of wood, just like other neighboring shops. But Jamal could not care much about that. He just bravely stepped in, with a camera tied on his body.

Introducing Warqah Newspaper Company. It is just a small newspaper company, used to be located in the main city of Creamland, but moved to the Ninja Village for safety reasons. Besides, the old office was not that convenient and moving was the right choice. There are just more than a dozen workers in the new office, and they filled the small area beautifully.

Jamal's presence was realised by the clerk in charge. The clerk, dressed neatly with a bowtie tied on his shirt collar, greeted the stranger, before being told of his intention to apply for the photographer job. The clerk kindly allowed Jamal to enter the editor's room.

Quietly and carefully, the young man entered the room, where it was very gloomy and dark. The lights above the editor's desk broke down, and the one near the entrance was barely functioning at optimum level. It was flickering as the clock ticked. Fortunately, the portable fan in the room was working, among other things.

The editor was looking outside, while sitting on his rather comfortable chair. Jamal did not waste time to introduce himself.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Hi!" Jamal greeted the editor of Warqah. "I am here, to apply for the photographer vacancy."

The creepy editor did not turn towards Jamal, but instead he said, "Oh, an applicant."

"Yes."

"What makes you think you are capable of the job?"

"Well, I take pictures."

"Hmm…"

"Mostly of the surroundings, monuments and other stuff."

"Interesting…", the editor said again. He then turned his chair to face Jamal.

He said, "I am the editor in this company."

"I know…"

"Good thing that you know," said the editor. He went on to introduce himself as Ed. Just Ed.

Jamal insisted on calling the editor by his surname, so Ed gave his full name: Ed Rajul.

"Happy now?" asked the creepy but rather interesting character known as Ed.

Jamal replied, "Err…yes, Mr. Rajul."

"Whatever, as long as you do your job well, you can stay here longer," Ed said.

"Sir," Jamal asked. "About my application…how is it?"

The editor stopped for a moment, and his hands were placed underneath his chin, as if in deep thought. Jamal was left standing, and sweating a little as his legs started to feel restless. Then, after much thought, Ed lowered his hands to the table, and looked straight to the applicant.

"Jamal Hashim…", he said. Jamal was confused as to why the editor kept pausing for some time. Eventually, the editor said, "…welcome aboard!"

Jamal smiled, and he thanked the editor for accepting him as a photographer for Warqah Newspaper. But before the young man attempted to leave the office, Ed stopped him. "I am not finished yet, young man," he said with his clear voice.

"You forgot that I have not told you about this company, our goals, our challengers, competition and so on."

Jamal realised that he was not given an in-depth look at the company. "Indeed," he replied. "Sorry about that."

So, Jamal was given as much information about the company as the editor wanted to give. The editor went on and talked about Warqah's attempt to win the Creamland people, and it would be a long process but still possible. However, Warqah is lacking a little behind the most read and favourite newspaper of people, Metronomic Newspaper. Metronomic had, over the past decade or so, dominated the newspaper competition, beating the competition on merit, fair and square.

Something interesting is that Ed was a product of Metronomic Newspaper's company.

"I was there," Ed said to the young Jamal, "for a few years. You see, after I graduated with a degree in journalism, I went straight to work with Metronomic, since they make the best newspapers."

What happened? Why is Ed no longer there? He carried on by saying that, Metronomic was under stiff competition from a rival company, and some changes were needed to help elevate Metronomic's status, to be the top ranking newspaper by a big margin. Ed, who was young but bright, came up with an idea he thought was brilliant.

He decided that the design of their papers were, back then, getting old and outdated. In fact, people favoured the Daily Paper, their strongest competition, because their design looked unique and colourful, thus easing the eyes of readers. After much thought on his behalf, and mostly on his own, the young and opportunistic Ed came up with his design.

"I was then a young journalist," he said, pointing out that he started as a journalist. "Even though I had little experience in graphic design, I gave my idea anyway. Who knows if my reputation might be improved in an instant?"

But Ed was young and inexperienced. He thought that his brilliant design would be accepted by the company's board of directors; unfortunately it did not. The editor was not convinced, for reasons unknown to Ed. However, a week after that, someone from a high ranking position in the company came up with a design which, by Ed's words, looked worse than his initial design. To his surprise, that design, which consist of rows and columns of varying colours, was accepted by the editor, and the board of directors. Ed was definitely not amused.

His dismissal might have been because of his youth and inexperience in working with a top newspaper company, but Ed kept his head down and worked, for a while, that is, until the time was right for him to go on his own. Through good and bad times working in Metronomic, he gained experience. Experience, which he put to good use, when he saw a clear opportunity in Warqah.

"Almost 10 years ago," the editor of Warqah went on, as the youthful Jamal looked on, tirelessly, but he was still standing there, with his legs bent, signalling tiredness. Luckily, Ed noticed, and he said, "Before I continue, what are you doing still standing there? Sit on the chair!"

"Okay," Jamal spoke softly, and slowly he sat on the chair in front of the table. Ed carried on.

"Almost 10 years ago," he said, "this very company was formed. Not formed here, in this little village, but in the big city."

"I saw a flyer about the company when I was in the city," Jamal said.

"I see," Ed replied. "Now, even though I worked with Metronomic for a while, but now I do not like them. Actually, I despised them, ever since my talents were overlooked. Warqah is my place now, and I am the editor. Have been the editor for almost 10 years. Metronomic is going to fall."

Jamal interfered again. He said, "But, sir, Metronomic released the best newspaper in this country. In fact, their content is okay. No offence…and I think that it is best you move on and see them as friends again."

"What do you mea by 'them'?" Ed asked, with his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Metronomic," Jamal replied.

Ed's face lit up. "Young man," he said, "you have no idea what I went through there. And why are you rating them highly?"

"I am just saying," Jamal said, "their papers are okay. I am sure you read them a lot."

"No…I mean, I did…but not again! Not since I became editor."

Ed stopped for a moment again, before continuing. "Jamal," he said, "there is some truth to what you said, but I am fully focused."

"Focused on what?"

"Please do not interrupt."

"Okay…"

"I am fully focused…on building Warqah Newspaper Company from strength to strength. To do this, I need the cooperation of everyone, and also some brilliance, creativity on behalf of everyone. I want to make sure Warqah makes the best papers. We are the best! Not Metronomic."

Ed paused again, and shook his head. "Maybe…we are not the best, but we will, one day. Your responsibility, should you choose to accept it, is to take beautiful pictures that are not just beautiful, but can silence the critics."

"Sir," Jamal replied, "I accept the responsibility. If I do something wrong, you have the power to cut my payment, and so on."

"Good," Ed said with a smile. "At least we have a replacement for our retired photographer, who was quite okay, but a little unorganised."

"What happened to him? How many photographers do you have here?"

"No one," Ed said, "until now. We had no photographers for quite some time."

Jamal's eyes widened. "But how…?"

"No need to worry," the editor tried to keep his new employer silent. "Focus on the present time…"

Suddenly, the windows in the office were broken to pieces, when two ninjas appeared out of nowhere, literally. They were wearing black ninja clothes, but with different belt colours. Jamal ducked to avoid injuries, and was able to snap a picture.

The ninja wearing a blue belt pointed to young Jamal and said, "You! Stop taking photos!"

Jamal immediately stopped.

However, Ed was standing up in silence, but he gripped his fists tightly, as if he was angry or upset.

The ninja in red belt said, "Stop where you are! Have anyone seen the evil mummies? We thought we saw them enter this place."

Ed opened his mouth. "No," he said, "but you just broke down the windows! No way am I going to pay for that damage."

When the co-editor of Warqah set foot in the editor's office, he was undoubtedly surprised.

"The windows cost a lot of money," Ed said, "and I suggest you pay!"

The ninjas realised the angered state that the editor was in. They freaked out when they encountered an editor with a red face.

The ninja in blue belt apologised for the trouble. "I am so sorry…mister," he said. "We will pay for the damages…in cheque…really sorry."

"Good…" Ed said, while his hands became a little relaxed when Jamal told him to. His face, which was bright red, calmed after what was a terrible moment. Not least because the co-editor was also there, but he could not explain what happened anyway. The ninjas would leave, and they were required to pay some amount of money to cover the costs of two windows.

However, there appeared to be a lost mummy, or maybe people dressed in mummy costumes, or something else. Those ninjas who stormed into the office were no impostors; they are professional ninjas, graduates of the Ninja School, which is located in the famous Ninja Village, also the location of Warqah's new headquarters.

"It looks like," Jamal said, "something urgent to them."

"Who can you be?" the co-editor asked the young chap who was in the office with the editor.

"I am Jamal," he replied.

"The new photographer," Ed said, referring to the new employee. "He better do his work, or he will get the sack. So will everyone else?"

"Nice to meet you," the co-editor said to the young man. "Do not worry, he will be fine later on."

Figuring that there was no need to stick around, Jamal left the headquarters and headed home, where he would join his family, including his cousin, Baraq. Together, they would have delicious side dishes, as fries and sushi were cooked and the aroma relived. The side dishes were good, too. It felt good to have a good lunch.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Late at night, Jamal's phone rang. It was Joe. Joe wanted to know what his friend was doing, since he left the detective work.

"Oh, I am fine here," Jamal said. "I have some work and all, but that is about it."

"Same for me," Joe replied. "Even I left the police force."

Jamal was surprised to hear that.

"But why?"

"It is just that I have other plans as well, and I am keen on it."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"Oh, I hope that, whatever work we do, we do it the right way and so that we can get the benefits later in life."

"Sure."

"What is with the noises in the background?"

"Cats and dogs. Wolves, too."

"It is almost midnight. What are you doing outside?"

"I just came home from shopping," Joe said and laughed. Jamal also laughed, and they went on talking before the time was right to switch off the phone and go to sleep.

Joe actually went to the shopping mall to buy some cloth. Cloth, as in things that are used to make clothes, or decorations. The cloth was actually intended for Eddie, who looked forward to fighting crime as The Jay. Joe handed over the cloth to Eddie, since Eddie was busy with what looked like his final paperwork.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

It was already midnight. The streets were nearly empty, with owls circling some areas in the darkness. Later, some kind of creature, which looked like an eagle, descended towards a rather large house. The house may belong to some wealthy person.

Indeed it was. It was Raul's house, and the eagle was just an assistant to the rebellious client who ended ties with his boss Dominic just a few hours before. The eagle grabbed Raul off the flag pole and into the surface. As the eagle departed, Raul entered his residence, and gently walked towards the basement.

In his residence, there is a steel door hidden in the basement area. The door was locked, with state-of-the-art security settings, established by none other than Raul himself. With a few clicks on the security lock, the door slowly shifted to the left, signalling that it was going to open.

What the unlocked steel door revealed was a state-of-the-art laboratory. Yes, a lab, where there are many test tubes, flasks, and other things related to scientific research. It was soon revealed that Raul developed his weapons in that lab. Besides that, there were three chambers in the lab, near a control panel. Two of the chambers were empty, but one of them housed some sort of figure, who was without legs and a right arm.

However, when Raul made some configuration changes through the control panel, he saw that the figure's arm was regenerating. It was regenerating but at a slow rate. Upon seeing the progress, Raul smiled. "You will be free…soon," he said before continuing his work.

Who or what that figure is, and what the super smart Raul is up to, no one really knows. That is, until some light is lit upon the matter. Until then, a new day has already begun, and it would be several hours before the sun shines again. Life goes on.


End file.
